Scouring pad holder



July 16, 1957 c. l. MccALL 2,799,038

SCOURING PAD HOLDER Filed oct. 8, 195s INVENT OR Clare/Ice I. Mc' CaZLATTORNEYS United States Patent scoURlNG PAD HOLDER Clarence I. McCall,Waterbury, Conn., assignor of onehalf to Milton N. Forde, Naugatuvck,Conn.

vApplication October 8, 1953, Serial No. 384,942

16 claims. (C1. 1s-z09) This invention relates to holders forscouringpads of steel wool, mesh, woven ribbon, sponges and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved holder for ascouring pad, which is extremely facile in its operation and convenientto use, enabling thepad to be readily manipulated into corners andconstricted spaces with great ellectiveness and without danger of thematerial of the pad becoming embedded in the hand 'of the' hood of dirtcollecting, to render the holder unsightly or unsanitary.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedscouring pad holder in accordance with the foregoing, which securelyretains the pad in place and allows most of the pad to be used up beforerequiring-replacement with a new pad.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of improved andsimplified pad-retaining means in a holder as above set forth, whichoperate to draw up the pad tightly' against the holder body when thesaid means is actuated in pad-engaging direction.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of an improvedpad holder wherein the actuation of the pad-retaining means may bereadily and quickly comprehended by the average housewife or other user.

Other features and advantages willhereinafter appear.' ln theaccompanying drawings, showing several embodi ments of the invention:

Figure 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly inverticalsection, of a pad fholder made in accordance with the invention, havinga scouring pad attached to it.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the pad holder.

Fig. 3 is atop or plan View of the pad holder.

` Fig. 4 is a view like Fig. l, but showing a modified form ofpad-retaining means.

, Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View through a pad holdermade in accordance with a modification of the invention, the retainingtines being shown in released position. v

Fig.\6 is a view like Fig. 5 but with the tines in padretainingposition.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through a pad holdermade in accordance with another modification of the invention, thepad-retaining tines being shown in releasing position. l

Fig. 8 is a View like Fig. 7 but yshowing the tines in padretainingposition. I

Referring to Figs. 13, the novel scouring padv holder of this inventioncomprises a substantially flat base 10 having a somewhat rectangularconfiguration, characterized byra pair of straight opposite sides 11.land a paix-.mfA

curved opposite sides 12, providing corners 13. The.

base 10 obviously may have other outlines than the above, the outlineshown being for illustrative purposes. the interest of economy ofmaterial and neatness of appearance, the outline of Fig. 3, isconsidered desirable; additionally, the provision of the curved sides 12and corners 13 facilitates the use of the pad in the more inaccessibleareas of a kitchenware article.

On the underside of the base 10 a wide and shallow, longitudinallyextending groove 14 is provided, having sloping walls '15, said groovepreferably extending between the opposite curved walls 12 of the baseand being adapted to receive a portion 16 of a conventional scouring pad17 formed of steel wool or the like.

For reducing curing time Where the base 10 is tobe molded of plastic,cuts 17a may be incorporated in thel undersurface of the base to reducewall thickness, said lines in this figure.

cuts communicating with the groove 14 and providing projections whichwill embed themselves in the pad 17 to minimize slippage thereof.

For the purpose of holding the portion 16 of the scouring pad in thegroove 14, thereby to secure the pad to the underside of the base 10,there is provided by the present invention a novel retaining meanscomprising a pair of curved tines or prongs 18, said tines havinginwardly, radially-extending portions 19 secured to opposite ends 20 ofa shaft 21 which is carried in a bore 22 of an upstanding handle 23mounted on the top of the base 10. The handle 23 is preferably flat anddisposed directly above the groove 14 in the underside of the base.

Adjacent the four corners 13 of the base 10, slots 24 are provided forreceiving the tines 18 whereby the latter may be swung from pad-impalingpositions shown in full lines in Fig. l to pad-releasing positions shownin dotted When the tines 18 are in their padretaining positions theyextend into the slots 24 and across the mouth of the groove 14, and whenthe tines are in theirr pad-releasing positions they are retracted fromthe groove 14 and extend into only one pair of slots 24, that pairlocated at the right when viewing Figs. land 3.

`For the purpose of actuating the tines 18 an extension or arm 25 isprovided, said arm preferably being somewhat resilient and yieldable,and being secured to one end 20 of the shaft 21. The arm 25 mayadvantageously be groove 26 arranged to receive the arm 25 and to re--leasably hold the latter in itsy upright position aligned withfthehandle. The arm 25 may have its upper extremity bent into the form of ahook 27 to provide a con` venient handle adapted to be readily grippedby the user.

It will be understood that with the parts of the holder in the positionof Fig. l release of the pad 17 is effected by disengaging the arm 25from the handle 23 and swinging the arm counterclockwise to the dottedline'position shown in this figure. The tines 18 will, by this movement,be retracted from the slot 14 and disengaged from the pad 17, enablingthe pad to be discarded and a new one put' in its place. To accomplishthis latter, the new pad is held against the undersurface of the base 10and the arm- 25 swung clockwise to the full-line position of Fig. l.This will cause the tines 18 to impale the pad and securely hold it tothe base.

having straight portions 18b located closer to the shaft. end 20.. thanthe remaining/curved portions of the tines,

Patented July 16, 1957 a. Also, the base 10a of the holder is cut awayat 28 to add clearance and enable the straight portions 18b' to swingcounterclockwise, when the tines are actuated topad-,releasing'positiom.without contacting thefbase. The

advantageV of this construction. is.. that, when` the,pad-.retaining-tines are actuatedY from their releasing positionstothepad-retaining positions, the,at portions,Y 1,817` will pullguptheimpaled section off the, padzlxthereby; holding: the scouring padvmore tightly.A to-the' undersurface ofthe base,10.-

Another modificationofthe-invention is shown inFigs. and 6, depicting anovel shaft and bearing'. organization Aby whichv the scouringpadwillbepulledup tightly, as in the-formof-Fig 4,whenthetines.areswungtopadretaining position.l

Inligs.l 5 and 6al handle 23e mounted'on a base 10c is provided with albore-3ti-havinga cross sectional shape somewhat in the form of aninverted heart. In thebore 30 a shaftI 31- of rectangular cross sectionisl carried,th e shaft mounting the tines 18 and the handle 25, andhaving surfaces 31a disposedV more remote from the axis of the shaftthan other surfaces 31b. Shown in Fig. 5 the tines 18 are in releasedpositions and the center of the shaft is relatively low in the bore 30.When. the tines 18 are swung to their pad-impaling positions shown inFig. 6 the shaft 31 will ride up on a camming surface 32 in the bore30,*and will rest on an apex portion 32a of the bore 30 and the centerof the shaft will therefore be raised in the bore. This action reaisesthe tines 18 after they have been made to initially penetrate thescouring pad, thereby pulling up the pad tightly against the bottom ofthe base c.

Another modification of the invention by which a similar tighteningaction of the tines is obtained is shown in Figs. 7 and 8; A handle 23dc arriedy by a base 10d has a circular bore 33 in which a shaft 34 ofsubstantially square cross section is carried. Pad-impaling tines` 18are carried at the ends of the shaft 34 in off-center positions; forexample, in Fig. 7 the operating arm 25 which carries one of the tines18 is disposed below the center of the shaft 34 and the bore 33. When inthis position the tines 18 are in readiness to penetrate a scouring padand as the tines are advanced in their clockwisepath they will also betranslationally moved or raised so thatV when in the pad-retainingposition of Fig. 8 they will be disposedv deeper in the groove 14'. Inother words, the tines 18 are eccentrically carried by the shafts 34. insuch a manner that they are shifted radially toward the center of thebore 33 as they advance through the scouring pad 17. The tines 18 willthus pull the pad 17 tightly against the bottom of the base 10d. i

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claimsand portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A holder for a scouring pad, comprising a generally flat base havinga groove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouringpad; means for securing said portion of the pad in said groove,including a plurality of curved tines; means including a shaft connectedto the tines, disposed substantially at the center of curvature of thetines and carried by the base above the groove thereof, mounting thetines for curvilinear movement on the base laterally of the groovebetween pad-retaining positions wherein they individually extendentirely across the groove of the base and pad-releasing positionswherein they are retracted from the groove, said tines having theirconcave sides facing the groove; manually-engageable means for actuatingthe tines between said positions; and a handle attached to andupstanding from the base, adapted to be grasped by the hands of a userto manip-ulate the holder and scouring pad secured thereto.

2. A holder for a scouring pad, comprisinga generally at base having agroove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouringpad; means for securing said portion `of the pad in said groove,including a plurality off'curved tines; means including a shaftconnected to the tines, disposed substantially at the center ofcurvature of the tines and carried by the base above the groove thereof,mounting the tines for curvilinear movement on the base laterally of thegroove between pad-retaining positions wherein they individually extendentirely across the groove of the base and pad-releasing positionswherein they are retracted from the groove, said tines having theirconcave sides facing the groove; manually-engageable means for actuatingthe tines between said positions; and a handle attached to andupstanding from the base, adapted to be grasped by the hands of a userto manipulate the holder and scouring pad secured thereto, said meansfor actuating the tines moving the same simultaneously and includingsolely one manually-engageable member.

3., A holder for a scouring pad, comprising a generally flat base havinga groove in its underside adapted to receive a portionof the scouringpad; means for securing saidportion of the pad in said groove, includinga plurality lof curved tines; means including a shaft connected tothetines, disposed substantially at the center of curvature of theV tinesandv carried by the base above the groove thereof, mounting the tinesfor curvilinear movement on the base laterally of the groove betweenpad-retaining positions wherein` they individually extend entirelyacross the groove ofthe base and pad-releasing positions wherein theyare retracted from the groove, said tines having their concave sidesfacing the groove; manually-engageable means for actuating the tinesbetween said` positions; and a handle attached to and upstanding fromthe base, adapted to be grasped by the hands ofl a user to manipulatethe holder and scouring pad secured thereto, said handle being flat andsubstantially perpendicular to the base, said manually-engageable meanskcomprising an arm pivoted on the base and carried by said shaft externalto and arranged to lie at with the handle when the tines are inpad-retaining positions.

4.V A holder for ay scouring pad, comprising a generally dat baselhaving a groove in its underside adapted to receivey a portion of lthescouring pad; means for securing said portion of the pad in said groove,including a plurality of curved tines; means including a shaft connectedto the tines, disposed substantially at the center of curvature of thetines and carried by the base above the groove thereof, mounting thetines for curvilinear movement on the base laterally of the groovebetween padretainingV positions wherein they individually extendentirely across the groove of the base and pad-releasing positionswherein they are retracted from the groove, said tines having theirconcave sides facing the groove; manually-engageable means f oractuating the tines between said positions; a handle attached to andupstanding from the base, adapted to be grasped by the hands of a userto manipulate the holder and scouring pad secured thereto; and notcheddetent means for yieldably holding the pivoted arm in the said positionaligned with the handle, said detent means comprising a notch in thehandle and said pivoted arm being resilient and engageable in the saidnotch fto retain the arm in aligned position.

5. A holder for a scouring pad comprising a low, broad base having agroove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouringpad, said base having recesses on opposite sides of the groovefa curvedtine pivotally mounted on the base for curvilinear movement through oneof said recesses between a pad-impaling and retaining position extendingacross the groove and a padreleasing position retracted from the groove,said tine having its concave side facing the base vand said pivotalmounting being substantially at the center of curvature of the tine,said tine beingy receivedv in the recesses of the base when extendingacross the groove and having a supporting arm overlying the base,extending and connected between the tine and the pivotal mountingthereavances for,` said recesses being located in the pathof travel ofthe tine; an elongate, pivoted manually-engageable means for moving saidtine betweerrpad-retaining and: pad-releasing positions; and a flathandle'attached to and upstanding from the base in substantiallyperpendicular rela-v tion thereto, for engagement by the hands of a userto manipulate the holder and thescouringpad secured' recesses onopposite sides of the groove; a curved tine' pivotally mounted on thebase for curvilinear movement through one of said recesses between apad-impaling and retaining position extending 'across the groove and apadreleasing position retractedfrom the groove, said tine having itsconcave side facing the base and said pivotal mounting beingsubstantially at the center'of curvature of the tine, said tine beingreceived in the recesses of the base when extending across the grooveand having a supporting arm overlying the base, extending and connectedbetween the tine and the pivotal mounting therefor, said recesses beinglocated in the path of travel of the Itine; an elongate, pivoted,manually-engageable means for moving said tine between pad-retaining andpad-releasing positions; a flat'handleattached to and upstanding fromthe base inv substantially perpendicular relation thereto, forengagement by thel hands of a user to manipulateA the holder 'and thescouring pad secured thereto, said manually-engageable'means lying atwith the handle and against the same when the tine is in retainingposition; said base having additional recesses on opposite sides of thegroove; ajsecond curved tine pivotally mounted on the base, receivablein said additional recesses and extendable across rthe groove with itsconcave side facing the base to secure the scouring pad in the groove,said second tine having a supporting arm overlying the base, extendingabove and connected to the second tine and to the pivotal mountingtherefor and being operatively connected with the first tine by a shaft,for simultaneous movement therewith; said shaft constituting saidpivotal mountings and carrying said arms at its ends and said handlebeing disposed between said arms.

7. A holder for a scouring pad comprising a low, broad base having agroove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouringpad, said base having recesses on opposite sides of the groove; a curvedtine pivotally mounted on the base for curvilinear movement through oneof said recesses between a pad-impaling and retaining position extendingacross the groove and a padreleasing position retracted from the groove,said tine having its concave side facing tthe base and said pivotalmounting being substantially at the center of curvature of the tine,said tine being received in the recesses of the base when extendingacross the groove and having a supporting arm overlying the base,extending and connected between rthe tine and the pivotal mountingtherefor, said recesses being located in the path of travel of the tine;an elongate, pivoted manually-engageable means for moving said tinebetween pad-retaining and pad-releasing positions; a flat handleattached to and upstanding from the base in substantially perpendicularrelation thereto, for engagement by the hands of a user to manipulatethe holder and the scouring pad secured thereto, saidmanually-engageable means lying at with the handle and against the samewhen the tine is in retaining position, said base having additionalrecesses on opposite sides of the groove; a second curved tine pivotallymounted on the base, receivable in said additional recesses andextendable across the groove with its concave side facing the base tosecure the scouring pad in the groove, said second tine having asupporting arm overlying the base, extending above rand connected tothesecond tine and to the pivotal mounting therefor and being operativelyconnected with the rst tine by a shaft, for simultaneous movementtherewith; said shaft constituting said pivotal mountings and carryingsaid arms at its ends and said handle being disposed between said arms,one of said tines having an extension external to the handle andconstituting the means for moving the tine.

8; A holder for a scouring pad, comprising a generally ilat'base havinga longitudinal groove in its underside adapted to receive a portion ofthe scouring pad; a curved tine; means including a shaft disposedsubstantially at the center of curvature of the tine and mounting thetine for curvilinear movement on the base transversely of thegroove`between a pad-retaining position wherein it extends wholly acrossthe groove from one side thereof to the other and a pad-releasingposition wherein it is retracted from'the groove;.manually engage'ablemeans for actuating the tine between said positions; and a handleattached to and upstanding from the base, for engagement by the hands ofa user to manipulate the holderand scouring padvsecured thereto.

9. A holder for a scouring pad comprising a low, broad-` base having agroove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the'scouringpad, said base having recesses on oppositesides of the groove; a curvedtine pivotally'mountedon the base for curvilinear movement through oneof said recesses between a pad-impaling and retaining-position extendingacross the groove and a padreleasing position retracted from the groove,said tine having its concave side facing the base and said pivotalmounting being substantially at the center of curvature of the tine,said tine. being received in the recesses of the baseV when` extendingacross the groove and having a supporting arm overlying `the base,extending and connected between the tine and the pivotal mountingtherefor, said recesses being located in the path of travel of the tine;an elongate, pivoted manually-engageable means for moving said tinebetween pad-retaining and padreleasing positions; a flat handle attachedto and upstanding from the base in substantially perpendicular relationthereto, for engagement by the hands of a user to manipulate the holderand the scouring pad secured thereto, said manually-engageable meanslying flat with the handle and against the same when the tine is inretaining position, said base having additional recesses on oppositesides of the groove; a second curved tine pivotally mounted on the base,receivable in said additional recesses and extendable across the groovewith its concave side facing the base to secure the scouring pad in thegroove, said second tine having a supporting arm overlying the base,extending above and connected to the second tine and to the pivotalmounting therefor and being operatively connected with the lirst tine bya shaft, for simultaneous movement therewith; said shaft constitutingsaid pivotal mountings and carrying said arms at its ends and saidhandle being disposed between said arms said handle being disposed onthe top of the base over Ithe said groove; the said shaft passingthrough and being turnable in the handle, carrying the said tines, saidmanually-engageable means comprising an operating arm integral with oneof said tines extending from the said shaft and movable in an arcbetween positions parallel with the base and parallel with the handle.

l0. A holder for a scouring pad, comprising a substantially flat basehaving two pairs of corners and a groove in its underside extendingmidway between said pairs of corners, said base having a handle securedto and upstanding from its top and said handle being disposed over thegroove in the base and having in its lower portion a bore extendingparallel to the groove, said base having slots adjacent its four cornersextending in directions perpendicular to the groove; a shaft passingthrough and turnable in the bore of the handle; a pair of curved tinessecured to the ends of the shaft, said tines normally extendingcompletely through one pair of slots and being mounted for movementbetween pad-retaining positions wherein they extend across the groove ofthe base and through the other slots thereof, and pad-releasingpositions wherein they are retracted from the other slots and from thegroove; an operating arm projecting laterally from one end of the shaft,for manipulation by a user to turn the shaft and thereby actuate thetines, said handle having a detent notch for receiving said arm toyieldably hold the arm in a given position wherein the tines aredisposed in their padretaining positions.

11. The invention as dened in claim 10 in which the hlandle issubstantially flat and coextensive with the groove, in which the detentnotch is located in an edge portion of the handle, and in which theoperating arm is integral with one of said tines and is aligned with thehandle when held in the detent notch thereof.

12. A holder for a scouring pad, comprising a generally at base having agroove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouringpad; means for securing said portion of the pad in said groove,including a plurality of curved tines; means including a shaft connectedto the tines, disposed substantially at the center of curvature of thetines and carried by the base above the groove thereof, mounting thetines for curvilinear movement on the base laterally of the groovebetween pad-retaining positions wherein they individually extendentirely across the groove of the base and pad-releasing positionswherein they are retracted from the groove, said tines having theirconcave sides facing the groove; manually-engageable means for actuatingthe tines between said positions; and a handle attached to andupstanding from the base, adapted to be grasped by the hands of a userto manipulate the holder and scouring pad secured thereto, said tineshaving portions spaced from their pointed ends and oset laterally tooccupy positions closer to the bottom of the groove when the tines arein pad-retaining positions, thereby tol pull up the pad into the grooveand hold it tightly against the bottom of the base.

13. The inventionxas defined in claim l in which there are. meansv forshifting the tines transversely of their length closer to theV bottom ofthe groove as they are moved from padreleasing to pad-retainingpositions, thereby to pull the scouring pad tightly against the bottomof the base.

14. The invention as defined in claim 6 in which the means for shiftingthe tines laterally includes an eccentric connection between the tinesandthe shaft.

l5. The invention as dened in claim 1, in which there are means forshifting the shaft laterally upward when it is turned to move the tinesfrom pad-releasing positions to pad-retaining positions, thereby toshift the tines laterally upward as they are advanced through the pad tohold the pad tightly against the base.

16. The invention as defined in claim 15 in which the means for shiftingthe shaft laterally comprises a camming surface in the bore carrying theshaft, and in which the shafthasportions located further from its axisthan other portions and engageable with said camming surface to shiftthe shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,438,794 Tudor Dec. 12, 1922 1,620,903 Lance Mar. l5, 1927 1,653,652Melniker Dec. 27, 1927 1,795,708 Cahill Mar. 10, 1931 2,124,429 OBrienIuly 19, 1938 2,620,501 Bailey Dec. 9, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 616,104Great Britain Jan. 17, 1949

